Biodiversity of epigeic groups – ecological vs integrated management system

Abstract

The aim of the study was to evaluate the impact of an ecological and an integrated management systems within the cultivated crops of Hordeum vulgare, Pisum sativum, Vicia faba with Medicago sativa on the biodiversity of epigeic groups, in the Nitra-Dolná Malanta location, during the years 2019 and 2020, using the ground trap method. 27,987 specimens of the epigeic group of animals were obtained, 15,654 in the ecological system and 12,333 were in the integrated management system. Evertebrates belonged to 23 orders, 1 order Vertebrata and 1 undetermined group Larvae. Coleoptera, Collembola, Acarina, Formicoidae, Araneida had dominant occurrence. Subdominant representation was recorded in Opilionida. Recedent, or the subrecedent occurrence of Auchenorrhyncha, Heteroptera, Chilopoda, Isopoda, Lumbricidae and others was confirmed, which contributed to the biodiversity of the agroecosystem. Grown crops Pisum sativum and Hordeum vulgare showed the highest abundance, Vicia faba with Medicago sativa had the lowest abundance in both management systems. The diversity value  in ecological management was 1.9479 and 2.1229 in integrated management. Faunal similarity according to Jaccard, when comparing individual types of management, reached a value of 86.96%. The value for identity of dominance according to Renkonnen was 84.66%. The ecological management system confirmed the suitability of the environmental conditions in terms of the occurrence of epigeic groups, taking into account other factors such as sowing procedure, intensity of management, agro-climatic conditions of the site, but also prevailing intraspecies and interspecies relations.